Floor clip



April 14: 1953 J. A. MacLEAN, JR., E-r AL 2,634,833

FLOOR CLIP Filed Feb. 8, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET l rlrllllll//l/ i I A @swr f y -q v?v April 14, 1953 J. A, MacLEAN, JR., ETAL 2,634,833

FLOOR CLIP Filed Feb. 8, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 MM/@Wz-CMQ@ Patented Apr. 14, 1953 "ELOOR CLIP I 0h11 A. MacLean, Jr., Winnetka, and'Vernon C.

vStimpel, Chicago, Ill., assignors to MacLean- Fogg LockNut Gompany,..Chicago, Ill.,` a corporationof .Illinois Application February 8, 1947,.' Serial No. '127,392

A'This invention lrelates Nto 'floor clips fand more particularly to metalloor fcl'ips'of the type'adapted to use 'for removably securing vfoodffioor boards to metalframework, such las the'sill structure of railway cars.

YFloor clips 'of the 'class 'referred 1to"mustbe strong and substantially rigid. Light vWeigh-'n.'-and lowcost -are 'also desirable attributes. Generally, they include sill and floor engaging portions iand have a bolt hole in the mid-portion for "accommodating a bolt by Awhich -they are :secured v'in place. Other ldesirable 'elements of such door clips are prongs which dig-into the fluor 'boards to 'prevent turning o'f the clip and 'ian-integrally formed nut-lo'ckingpart.

Because of the strength'an'd vrigidity vof vmetal of a given Weight and having "a channel section, itis afgeneral objectief 'our'inventiontoprovide a oor clip structure including-the sill and 'floor engaging 'portions 'and "having v-rotation Ypreventing prongs and `an effective nut-locking Aelement all readily manifacturableat low-'fcostfrom material having ra channeled sectionalshape Another object `of our'inven'ton is to provide a'oor "clip structure in Whichl the channeled sectional shape *.o'f the 'material is advantageously utilized `for `economically .producing the-various desired parts of the clip.

As another object 'theinvention lhas Within its purview'the provision of `a""'i1o'or "clip1structure of the .character 'discussed `which `'may bef-faut successively from `channel stock 'without Iwaste.

Our invention has :for 'fa f'further obj-ect vthe provision offa iioor cliprna'de 'of material having a v-channeled VAsection Yand 'also 4"having relatively largesill and floorengagingsurfaces.

Other objects'and advantagesof `'our invention will vappear from 'the 'following :detailed f description and the accompanying drawings in `Whiuh similar characters of lreference indicate Asimilar parts `throughout the severalfgures.

lReferring to thea-two sheets Ofdrav/ings:

Figs. 11and`2 are, respectively, side-elevational and Yplan views depicting a preferred fernbediment of -our vkoor 'clip -Awhereinit lisfs'h'ovvn f in `its application 'to the `floor f structure of fa railway car;

Eig V31's `an fend yvi'evvof the structure-v shown in Figs. ,.'1 :and i2, viewed ."sub'stantially 'as indicated bythe .line 3-';3;in Fig. l vand the rraccompanying arrows;

rigs. 4 'and xrare, respectively, side-elevational andplan viewszsimilarfto Figs. r1fand'f2 "andfd'epicting :a 'modiedorm lof `our iioorlY clip; and

Fig. ,6 vis an eendivieW-sof the oorclip I'shovvn 2 inFigs. Ll"and5,'vvhf-xrein the clip isviewedsubstantially Yas indicated' bythe line '6-6`in1Fig.14 and the accompanying arrows.

In the disclosed embodimentsfof -our invenf tion 'which are Vdepicted herein for illustrative purposes, `the -oor -clips are shown inoperative position with a :frame'memberysuch as a'sidef'sill IB 'of afrailwaycar anda licor board lf2 forfsecurement of the door-board to the side sill. 'In each instancethe oor clipis rsecuredinfplace by va 'bolt i3 which extends A"through 'the Pfloor board fand the oor f clip fan-d is provided -With la coact'ingfnut M on "the ioorclip .en'dithereo'f- In the lpreferredembodiment of :our "invention which @is illustrated in AZFigs. `12to "3, inclu-sive, ea floor clip I5`has a body portion FB offchannl ysection'whichincludes, a 'longitudinally extending Web :l1 and 'integral `Iside -'walls if8 land 'TI-he Side 'Walls l 8 "and |29 `are of #substantially "uniform and equal height. 'At .one 4'end flanges .v220 :and .i12 projectA outwardlyffrorn thesidevwalls |118 and 1%9, respectively, fat v'their l'edges 'rem'oteffrom the *web l rand 'extend -al'ong f'fthose -s'ide Walls lto prov-ide a *Sill Lengaging 'part :of the clip having .':a substantial surface farea 'f'for contacting YAa Aframe member such ras' the sill t0.

Atlthe otherend uo` .the clip, .andspaced as Well as 'oiiset from the i'iianges '1:29 :and 22, is ani-'oor engaging `portion .'23 *integral 'the .Web :and extending`= longitudinally therefrom. iIn forder .Eto increase .the floor .engaging :area-idf the portion 23,:t1i's :preferably provided `with :side @Wings :24

Aand Z5 .iextending laterally .beyorrd :the web its vadjoining side walls. yThenlofor :engagingipiortion f23falso yextends longitudinally :from l:the fen'd of :thewe'b f1 .and beyond the ends `of ..the side Walls -l8 'and .11.9, rdesirably being '.joinedto Web by an integral curvedlportion T26 `"'(Iig. '1). Although 'in ioiset Ire'lationship, the si-llfan'd floor engagingvsufaees `of vthe -clip aref-substantially parallel. intermedi-ate vthose portionsfthe'body portiony o'f'the fc1p,fincludin-g the web "and side walls, `lis obtusely bent to fprovide an 'angul'aly disposed intermediate portion'21. *Preferablyfthe flanges 2D-andi? terminate short-of theobtuse angular lbend in 'the body portion, so v'that the sidewalls 't8 and F9, Without 'fthe @adjoining anges i128 and '22, form parts ofjthe 'angularly di'sposedportion-2.

The ends of the side walls lI8 and "-|9'are"so cut with `respect to fthe lother parts of the lfclip and to the fangularity lofthe -o'lcutuse bend ofthe body portion, #and yfthe vextent of those sidewalls toWardthe floor yengaging lpor-tion' is suchth'at corners 28 and 2,9 Aproject beyond vth'eT'1oo1'-=en gaging surface of the portion 23 in a direction away from the clip body. Those projecting corners are adapted to dig into the wooden oor boards, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to serve as prongs for preventing rotational movement of the floor clip relative to the floor and sill. In the disclosed embodiment of our invention, the side walls I8 and I9 extend to positions adjacent the floor engaging portion 23 and have their ends cut substantially at right angles to the web of the clip body.

The sill engaging end of the clip body is longer than either the floor engaging portion or the angularly disposed intermediate portion in order to provide substantial surface engagement with the sill and space displaced from the sill for a bolt hole 3i) through the web I'I through whichthe bolt I3 extends when the clip is mounted. Such oor securing bolts I3 preferably have flat heads which are countersunk into the surface of the floor, and the nut I4 is applied to the cl1p end thereof and drawn rmly into place for securing the parts together. 1

In order to prevent the nut I4 from becoming loosened in service, we have provided an integral nut-locking element comprising a deformable press-out 32 cut on adjoining sides from the web of the angularly disposed portion 21 and integrally joined to the web along a line adjacent the obtuse angular bend. The transverse cut defining the end of the press-out 32 is spaced from the adjacent end of the angularly disposed portion. Prior to the application of the clip, the press-out 32 desirably extends outwardly in substantially parallel relationship to the web of the sill engaging portion of the clip as shown in Fig. 1. After the nut I4 is tightened, securing the clip in place, the press-out 32 is deformed to a position such as that indicated at 32a in Fig. 1 in which it engages the side of the nut, thereby securing and locking the nut in its tightened position. Desirably, the press-out 32 is tapered so as to become narrower toward the oor engaging end portion 23 of the door clip; thus taking less material from the angularly disposed intermediate portion 21.

The structure of the oor clip disclosed in Figs. 4 to 6, inclusive, of the drawings is quite similar to that of the floor clip shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, and similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the various views. The structure of the oor clip shown in Figs. 4 to 6 is such that it may be made from preformed channel stock with successive floor clips cut from the stock without appreciable waste of material. The side flanges have been eliminated from the side walls of the sill engaging portion and the wings have been omitted from the sides of the floor engaging portion.

As shown in Fig. 5, a floor engaging portion 33 is provided at the end of the web of the angularly disposed intermediate portion 21. This floor engaging portion desirably tapers inwardly towards its projecting end and is of a width narrower than that of the web so that in cutting successive oor clips from a strip of preformed channel stock, the floor engaging portion of one clip is taken from the web of the sill engaging portion of an adjacent clip, forming a cut-out notch 34 at the end of the web of the sill engaging portion of each successive clip.

It is considered desirable in both forms of clips to sever the end portion of the web from the side flanges for a short distance adjacent the oor engaging portion as indicated at 35 and 36, so as tl provide for a smoothly curved connecting porl4 tion and the proper projecting length of the rotation preventing corners 28 and 29. The severing at 35 and 36 extends only to the level of the transverse cut forming the end of the press-out 32 so that the web is strong at this region. This is to be seen in Figs. 1 and 4.

From the foregoing description of the structure and arrangement of our disclosed floor clips, it may be readily appreciated that we have not only taken advantage of the characteristic rigidity of material having a channel section, but have also utilized the various parts of the channel in such a waythat all of the desirable floor -clip elements and functions are provided in a relatively simple and effective structure which may be readily manufactured. That is, the web of the channel is yextended to provide the oor engaging portion to manufacture by cutting blanks for the clips' successively from a strip of stock.

While we have illustrated a preferred embodi ment of our invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and we do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of all'changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A door clip comprising a sill portion formed as a channel, a oor portion offset from the sill' portion, and an intermediate portion extending at an obtuse angle between the floor and sill portions so as to connect them and being formed as a channel having sides terminating adjacent the oor portion as rotation-preventing prongs, the web of the channel merging with the floor portion and being severed from the sides of the channel for short distances from the floor portion and being depressed with respect to the remainder of the web into a smoothly curved connection region between the oor portion and intermediate portion, the web of the channel of the intermediate portion providing a nut-locking press-out formed entirely from said web by being severed on three sides, one line of severing running across the web' in spaced relation to its end adjacent the lioor portion at the beginning of the aforesaid curveddepressed connecting region.

2. A floor clip comprising a sill portion formedas a channel provided with outwardly directed flanges engageable with the sill, a oor portion having a width comparable to that of the sill portion as provided by its flanges but being planar so as to be engageable throughout its width with the iioor, and an intermediate portion extending at an obtuse angle between the floor and sill por-y tions so as to connect them in offset relation and comprising a ange-free channel shaped as an angular extension of the sill portion except for the flanges of the latter, the web of the channel' of the intermediate portion merging with the floor portion, the ends of the sides of the channel being free of the floor portion and constituting' rotation-preventing prongs adapted to project 5 into the floor, the web of the channel of the intermediate portion being severed from the sides of the channel for a short distance from the floor portion and being depressed with respect to the rest of the web of the intermediate portion into a. smoothly curved connecting region between the floor portion and intermediate portion and bringing the oor portion closer to the rotation-preventing prongs formed by the ends of the sides of the intermediate portion, the web of the channel of the intermediate portion providing a nutlockng press-out formed entirely from said Web by being severed on three sides, one line of sever- 6 ing running across-said web in spaced relation to its end adjacent the floor portion at the beginning of the aforesaid curved depressed connecting region.

JOHN A. MACLEAN, JR.

VERNON C. S'IIMPEL.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 2,123,458 Woehler et al July 12, 1938 2,354,802 Doke Aug. 1, 1944 2,439,220 Rothfuchs Apr. 6, 1948 

